Date Night at Foodie House!

This is a very special installment of Foodie House. The bonus on this video is my cutie husband and what we think are some of the best bloopers to date. Every thing's more funny and ridiculous when you've got a partner in cooking crime. So we are preparing for you a dinner that is the perfect date night at home. We have 3 small kiddos and we don't get out much, mainly because we nearly collapse as we sing the last song and read the last book to our tiny tired three year olds. But some nights we just press through the exhaustion and make time for us. Sammy and I love cooking together. We joke around, have some wine, dream together etc. It is more fun than going out sometimes because you don't have to go anywhere and you can eat your dinner in your lounge wear.

Here's the menu...(everything is just for two, so double or triple for a dinner party)

Seared Filet with Caramelized Onions

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Fresh Garden Salad with Bacon and the Foodie House Herbaceous Buttermilk Dressing and Croutons



Seared Filet with Caramelized Onions

2 10 oz. Filets of Beef, 2" thick
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbls. Olive Oil

Get your oven crankin' to 400 degrees. Blot off your meat with paper towels. It needs to be dry to get a tasty brown crust on it. Get your oven safe pan smoking hot on medium high heat. Season your filets with salt and pepper. Be rather generous as it is a thick piece of meat and it needs flavor throughout. Add your olive oil to the pan and when it is smoking, add your seasoned filets. Sear both sides 3 minutes. Leave the meat alone as it is searing. Don't move it around, it will disturb the crust that is forming. After both sides are seared, move the pan to the oven to cook the steaks another 7 min. This is for medium rare. If you want medium do another minute or two. But remember, if your steak is less than 2" thick you will need to adjust the time in the oven. Please remember not to grab the hot pan handle with your bare hands after it comes out of the oven!

Caramelized Onions

Follow the Caramelized Onions post for the how-to on this. Once you've made the onions, add 1/2 cup white wine, or red if you prefer, to the onions and let it reduce by half. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve over the filets for a savory accompaniment.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Mashed Potatoes

1/2 lb. "C" sized baby red potatoes, or whatever you have on hand
3 cloves roasted garlic (see Roasted Garlic Low-Down for the how-to)
1/4 c. heavy cream
3 tbls. butter
1 tsp. fresh rosemary
salt and pepper

Boil potatoes until they are fork tender and soft enough to smash. Drain, add garlic, cream, rosemary and butter. Mash until it's creamy but still kinda lumpy. Salt and pepper to taste.

Fresh Garden Salad with Bacon and Foodie House Herbaceous Buttermilk Dressing

2 Large handfuls of your favorite greens, I use green leaf lettuce
1/2 c. sliced cucumbers
1/2 c. halved cherry or pear tomatoes
4 strips crispy bacon, chopped
2 handfuls of Quickie Croutons (see the how-to here on Foodie House)
1 recipe of the Herbaceous Buttermilk Dressing (also here on the blog)

Assemble your salads! I do the dressing and croutons the day before to save on time.